


Reach for Me (B-side)

by SilentWhisper



Series: Reach for Me [2]
Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:07:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26220862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilentWhisper/pseuds/SilentWhisper
Summary: The grenade doesn't roll far enough. Andy and Nile find two bodies where the plan was for one. The tide turns further as plans are changed.
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Series: Reach for Me [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1904290
Comments: 4
Kudos: 52





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a further divergence on the original idea thanks to the lovely people on the TOG Discord, the idea spiraled and I decided to try and write both versions to see how it would be different and the same. The first two chapters are the same as Reach for Me (A-side), so if you have read that please feel free to skip.   
> As before, I hope this is an enjoyable read.

The sound of gunfire cut their conversation short, Andy reaching for her gun as Nile ducked beside her. After tense moments they finally worked their way to the main door, both of them on high alert. Andy could feel Nile standing behind her, body poised and ready to face whatever was ahead. She led the way in, sweeping the room with the ease that came from an age of practice. 

There were no unknown assailants waiting to strike, no clear danger that she could throw herself at. Only two forms motionless and bloodied in front of the TV. Booker lay sprawled in the chair, limbs hanging like a puppet left after play. It would be familiar and comforting if she wasn’t able to clearly see his organs barely staying in place. Joe’s chair had toppled, tumbling him to the ground in a heap, his right side peppered with debris from what looked like an explosion. Nicky was nowhere to be seen. 

“Nicky.” She calls out, a part of her already knowing she won’t get a response. If Nicky were conscious, he would be by Joe. The two were predictable like that. 

She waits a beat before she kneels beside Joe, stopping only to hold the gun out to Nile. “Clear the back room, find Nicky.” She says, waiting for Nile to take the weapon. The younger woman took the offered weapon, eyes going over the two men before giving Andy a firm nod. She steps forward to check the other room, her feet deftly moving around the growing pool of blood. 

Andy moves Joe into a more comfortable position, hands slipping on exposed ribs as she shifts him onto his side. There was no need for him to drown on his own blood and die a second time. Once she is sure he won’t slump back, she steps back to try and wake Booker. 

She kneels in front of him, her hands cupping his cheeks. He is loose and pliant in her hold, body relaxed in a way it never was when he was alive. 

“Book.” She says watching for any response. A coldness grows as the seconds tick by and she sees no healing. Pleading words slip from her; and at this moment, with the bodies of two of her family in front of her and a third possibly lost, she can’t find it in herself to stop. Facing eternity without them made what little hope she still held fold into itself like a wounded creature. 

A weak groan from her right pulls her attention from Booker, she rests back on her heels and zeroes in on Joe. Joe’s limbs are twitching, the sound of bones and joints resetting a stark contrast to the softer sounds of his awakening. Joe’s awakening seemed to act as a signal for Booker as he too gasped back to life, and she felt a momentary spike of pure relief. She leans forward to brace him as he tries to rise, holding him down against the support of his chair. 

“He’s not here.” Nile says as she moves passed Andy to help Joe. She stands up at the other’s words, resting a hand on Booker’s shoulder as he leans back in pain with another pained grimace. She waits for him to look up at her, his bleary gaze finally settling on her. 

“Welcome back arsehole.” She says, grinning at his huff of pained amusement. The sound of wood grinding over wood pulls her attention back to the other two. Joe rises, an arm wrapped around his side as Nile helps to prop him up. 

“They took Nicky.” He said, voice breaking as he looked to Andy. She nodded her understanding, internally waiting for the moment pain would morph to anger. They would use that. Bind it to them like armour when the time came. A crash stopped her from voicing her thought. All three looked at Booker as he sat twisted on the chair, tendrils of shock licking across his face as he looks at the other man. 

“Joe.” He manages to gasp out, his voice tight with pain as he hunched over the arm of his chair. Joe nodded, forgoing a response in favour of pulling away from Nile to straighten up, the last lacerations marring his face healing until unbroken skin was left. He swiped at his check, the action smearing blood into his hair. Andy turns back to Booker, Nile following her as they give him some time to collect himself. She questions Booker, trying to work out how the had been so blindsided. Booker’s answers were scattered, offering little value other than that their assailants were armed and trained. 

“We need to find Nicky.” Joe says, ignoring their conversation as he disappeared into the backroom. The other three paused in their conversation, Copley’s name a bitter taste in Andy’s mouth as she stared at the backroom. 

“They’re coming back. They want all of us.” She finally said, looking back to the other two. The confusion in Nile’s face clear before she even made a sound. Booker looked resigned but he was already trying to lever himself up onto his own feet. Andy took a deep breath, turning to grab one of the spare swords. 

“Stay..” She starts to say, Joe interrupting with a sharp “I’m coming with.”. She growls but nods her understanding. She looks back at Nile. “Stay here.” She repeats and waits for Joe to walk through before following him out into the darkness. She calls out a reminder for the two to wait for a signal, then strides forward. Joe keeps pace beside her, a grimace on his face as they cautiously make their way around the building. She bites her tongue to hold back any words, this was not the time nor place. For now she drew upon her own anger, letting it build in her chest and solidify. 

They had come into their home. Hurt her family, stolen one away. They would not get the chance to do it again. She would make sure of it.


	2. Chapter 2

Andy guides them to one of her many hideouts. Usually Joe would make some comment about her attempting to relive her caveman origins, with Nicky pretending not to be amused. But now the only sound is their feet breaking through the overgrown greenery as they trudge to the entrance and then into the cold space.

“What is this place?” Nile asks as she looks over the dark interior filled with objects.

“An abandoned mine. We stumbled on it during the Baussenque Wars.” Andy replied as she set about lighting one of the many lanterns. “1150s maybe?” She adds as she rose to face Nile, the two women both pausing to take it in. “I used to keep my stuff here.” She ends with, moving away from Nile.

Andy kept an idle eye on the younger woman, watching as she explores the dark cavern. She waits until Nile is engrossed with one of the many paintings before she turns her attention to the other two.

Booker kept glancing over to Joe, a frown on his face every time his attention settled there. Joe for his part was ignoring him, them more likely, as he cleans himself up in one of the less populated corners. The rough, abrupt motions were a clear indicator that one half of her oldest partnership was not handling this well. She could understand Booker’s unease, Joe was worrying her too. His unease and agitation was feeding across to all of them, unsettling them all.

She moves to kneel beside Booker, watching as he builds a small fire, and contemplating whether she needs to give Joe his space or step forward and try and draw him back to them. The empty space beside Joe was enough to slide the scales towards approaching him, it would be what Nicky would do and what he would want them to do.

“Is this a Rodin?”

Nile’s voice breaks her silent observations. Andy stands up, letting Booker carry on with his task as she turns her attention to the new immortal.

“Yeah.” She responds, a little as Nile’s eyes don’t move away from the sculpture, staring at it with a level of awe she has not felt herself in over a millennia.

“This is an honest to God Rodin.” She repeats, almost to herself. Andy watches the emotions playing across her face until she is met with an incredulous gaze.

“Did you know him?” She asks, and before Andy can answer Booker pipes up with an innuendo. She fondly taps him with the side of her boot, his own chuckles breaking out as he nurses the flames further. Nile continues her exploring, studiously not responding to their shenanigans, and Andy decides to leave her to it. She stares down at the flickering fire, Booker still feeding it every few moments. She hears the heavy tread of feet crossing the floor and looks up to see Joe making his way out. She remembers her previous thoughts and lets out a silent sigh.

“Find Copley.” She says, a hand brushing over Booker’s shoulder. He looks up at her and nods, his face losing its earlier mirth at the reminder of their pursuer. “Find Copley, we find Nicky.” She adds, waiting for him to nod before she follows the path Joe took back out into the fresh air.

\---

Joe is sitting on what was left of a long dead building, shoulders hunched as he seems to be trying to curl himself away from the world. She makes her way slowly to him, her footsteps loud in the quiet.

“He was right there.” Joe’s voice flows to her, soft like the songs he and Nicky would sing to each other after nightmares tore at their sleep. Andy walks until she can touch his shoulder, her hands stopping before they made contact.

“I was so close, and I couldn’t…. I” His voice is a sob that cuts itself before it can fully form. Her hand settles on a trembling shoulder, the material warm from Joe’s skin. It hunches under her hold, as he lowers and tilts his face away from her.

“We will find him Joe. We will hunt them down and make them regret ever taking him from us.” She moves into his space, turning to face him, her hand leaving his shoulder to cup his neck. His eyes are bright in the dark, shining with unshed tears even as he tried to keep a grasp on the anger that was pacing in the background like a hungry cat. Her words catch in her throat, he looks so young to her in this moment. Lost in a way he hasn’t had to experience for almost 900 years. He yields to her, slowly leaning against her side as she held him there, her body a barrier between him and the world as he pulls himself back together. She stares out at the distant lights of far off neighbors, burning the image of Joe’s face into her mind. It would be another layer, another weapon to wield against those who stood in the way.

\---

Andy paces in agitation as Booker is somehow still working on the laptop. Joe had finally settled down to sleep a couple hours ago, and the three of them had agreed to leave him for as long as they could.

Between her own feelings of helplessness, and the echo of keystrokes, her frustration finally overcomes her control as she turns on the spot to level Booker with an unimpressed stare.

“Come on, Book. You’ve been working on that for hours.” She knows she isn’t helping, but time is of the essence, and something inside her is telling her that they are running out of it.

“He’s a security expert. He leaves no footprints. It’s gonna take time.” He gestures at the laptop as he answers her, voice even despite the length of time he’s been working on it. She feels some begrudging respect at his composure, especially when she is fraying at the edges. Her body aches in a way she is not used to, limbs heavy as if she has just dragged herself up a sheer cliff in full gear.

“You got a satellite link?” Nile asks from her spot by the fire. She had been there when Andy had returned with a silent Joe. Andy was sure she hasn’t moved since. She paces a little away from them, letting the two younger and more tech savvy immortals work through the problem, and decides to check on Joe.

He is already awake when she kneels beside him. He gives her a small smile in greeting, his whole body looks tired even with the time to rest. She pushes back some of his hair, the curls tangling between her fingers before she smooths them out.

“I’m thinking of making a run for some provisions. You up for giving me a hand?” She asks as she settles her weight on her haunches. He heaves himself off the rugs he had used as a pallet, stretching out his shoulders once he is on his own feet.

“Sure thing boss.” He says, a hint of that old grin teasing the corners of his mouth. Their Joe was still there. The four of them would find Copley, rescue Nicky and find somewhere safe to recover.

All of them.

Together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, if there are any major errors (and I'm sure there are a few) I would appreciate if you point it out.


	3. Chapter 3

They leave the mines as four, they find Copley as three. Two shots bring Andy to the present as she swings round to face the threat.

Joe has fallen to the floor, eyes still open but unseeing, a shot to the head and one through the upper back having killed him before he had time to respond. Her own firearm is already leading her to face his attacker, finger ready to squeeze the trigger.

But only Booker stood there, gun raised and aimed at her.

“Andy. Let me explain.” He says, his voice calm for someone who just shot a man he called brother, he raised his arms, both hands held up and gun loose as he takes a step towards her. She stepped back, keeping her own gun on him as she glared at him. Joe should be up any minute, especially if she kept Booker focused on her.

“What is going on Book?” She asked, not bothering to hide her anger as she waited.

“It wasn’t meant to go this way.” He said, “It was..”

“You led them to us.” She snapped back, lips twisting into a snarl at his attempt to placate her.

“It was supposed to be me.” He said, lips down-turned as he shifted forward. “But then things changed.”

“They took Nicky.” She countered; Joe should be waking any moment. She just needed to keep Booker busy.

“Merrick said he needed all of us. He said they could find out why we are like this.” His voice was not as steady now, she could see a gradual quickening to his breathing. “Andy please, I just wanted to make this stop. You understand, don’t you? You feel that way too. You want it too, right.” He pleads with her.

A memory pulls at her from barely two days ago.

_“Misery loves company.” “What he said.”_

“Sebastian. What have you done?” The weight of it all hits her, robbing her of strength and leaving her limbs feeling like she was wading through soup.

“I just wanted the pain to stop!” He cried out, the sound reminding her of a dying animal before the final strike. It sent a spike of ice down her spine and spreading through her belly. “It never stopped. Night after night.”

“And what about Nicky? He wouldn’t want this.” She said, trying to keep a hold of her calm in the face of Booker pain. _‘Please wake up Joe.’_ She found herself begging.

“I never asked for this! This curse! The nightmares, the loneliness.” His voice breaks and she is caught between rage at his betrayal and a deep ache to hold him as her brother in arms seems to shake apart in front of her.

“I thought you would understand. How lonely it is. An eternity of helping people who are just going to mess it all up again. Watching the people you love die. I can’t.” There are tears as he stares at her, hands hanging at his sides as his body sags under the weight of his pain. “Please, I can’t.” She can just hear his voice, limping across the space between them.

“Sebastian.” Her own voice is soft, softer than she remembers ever speaking in the last five hundred years. She lowers her gun, her movements slow as she takes a tentative step towards Booker.

She could understand, his pain was something she knew in her own way. The taste and feel subtly different to Booker’s. But she had had centuries to learn her pain, to smooth its edges until it brushed against her instead of bruising and cutting. Joe and Nicky had tried to help him, each in their own way, but they could not understand. They had already learned to accept the loss of family and friends. Their understanding of the soul rending agony had been dulled by time, until even the memory had faded till almost nothing. Booker had turned to drink to numb it, and Andy had joined him while Joe and Nicky had silently disapproved. But none of them had ever voiced it, and maybe in that they had failed him.

A gasp breaks the air breaks the moment and they both stop to look at Joe, the other man having finally revived. He struggles on the floor, limbs bound together with what looks to be cables. Copley is kneeling near him, the clear culprit to Joe’s current state.

The anger that had been so neatly torn down in the face of Booker’s suffering surges back to smother it. Booker had been keeping her occupied, leaving an opening for Copley to disable Joe and leave her outnumbered.

“Andy.” Booker steps forward, his eyes are still wet with tears but there is a renewed energy. Andy doesn’t let him sway her, she had already fallen for that and Joe was now suffering the consequences.

“You stay right there.” She demands, stepping towards Joe as she keeps Booker and Copley in her line of sight.

She covers half the distance when the sound of footsteps filters up from the staircase.

A group bursts in, the lead man directing Booker out of his and into the arms of one of his team. “Secure them.” He says, his voice calm as he sets his sights on her. Two of the men break off to gather Joe, who tries to wriggle away from their holds.

Andy shoots the closest one, the man going down with a grunt before she feels the kick of a round in the chest.

She drops with a grunt, losing her weapon as Booker and Joe’s voices both fill the air. From her spot on the floor she can see another join them. Dressed in a pale suit and with a face she is sure would look better after a few hits, he strolls into the room with the air of a man who has no fear.

“Look at you.” He says, as he stares down at her with a pleased expression. The other man, his bodyguard perhaps signals for another to secure her. She grunts as she is turned on her front, the pain in her chest amplifying. She gasps in a breath as, with a rising sense of dread, she realizes she is not healing. The sucking sound is not quieting, and she is starting to feel cold seep from the entry point out into his limbs.

_“I’m dying.”_

She’s turned over, the stretch from her bound arms and the twist of her muscles pulls a wet groan from her. She can hear Joe calling for her, the words jumbling together as her mind slows. She feels like there is cotton in her throat and ice in her veins.

“Why isn’t she healing?” She doesn’t recognize the voice. But she thinks she would like to punch its owner.

Between one blink and the next, a breathe released but not drawn. Her world narrows until all is gone.

Andromache the Scythian knows no more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, if there are any major errors (and I'm sure there are a few) I would appreciate if you point it out.


	4. Chapter 4

Hi, so this is not an update of the story. Firstly, I apologize for the lack of updates or responses to comments. The last month and a bit ended up becoming a mess that no one really wants to hear about so I will spare you the details. On top of all that my laptop decided it would be a good time to go on permanent strike and I lost all of my writing and work. I managed to get a new laptop last week but have been struggling to get the momentum going to rewrite the lost chapters. I am not giving up on this story, or the other, I am just trying to push myself to write it all out again and to carry on. I hope that by the start of next month at least I will have the next chapter up. Thank you for your patience and I am sorry again for the wait. Have a great week and a peaceful weekend.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, if there are any major errors (and I'm sure there are a few) I would appreciate if you point it out.


End file.
